Billy Zane.
Fred MacMurray was the first actor who came to mind.
He appeared in an immense variety of crap on film, and in the sprinkling of fairly good movies in which he starred (i.e. The Caine Mutiny, Double Indemnity) he appeared out of place and was never sleazy enough for the roles he was given.*
He was competent enough, but just…blah.
*it didn’t help that my image of him was influenced by several dreadful years of My Three Sons on TV.
I was thinking there may be a gender bias involved here, too. Somebody in the other thread that was linked to nominated Denise Richards. I remember Denise Richards vividly, because she is SUCH a little sexpot. Same is probably true for Veronica Lake. But if you’re gay or a straight female, Richards’ and Lakes’ sexiness may not work for you, so you’d find them as forgettable as guys find male actors who got nothing but teh sexy going for them. I mean, Warren Beatty is handsome and affable, but other than that, I don’t remember much about him.
A movie reviewer once remarked that the start of the movie he was rating was even more forgettable than Sam Worthington. Except, I don’t remember who it was or the movie he was acting in.
I think Jai Courtney is getting the new Sam Worthington roles.
The Good Wife?
Jennifer Tilly
Melanie Griffith
While they both had one or two roles where they didn’t completely suck, they practically define mediocre-but-successful.
He is every bit as bad as people say. That doesn’t mean you can’t find him entertaining. I can’t because of how he took a steaming dump in the middle of the otherwise wonderful Much Ado About Nothing.
McMurray was far from blah when he played a villain, especially when Billy Wilder was involved. Double Indemnity practically invented film noir, and his role as the sleezy boss in The Apartment was one of the best villains in film. The problem was that he wouldn’t get away from his nice guy image (which was why he was so effective in The Apartment), so most of his work was pretty bland.
Lash Larue was a pretty successful western star, but only because he had the gimmick of using a bullwhip. Harrison Ford supposedly took lessons from him for Raiders, but he quickly vanished from the scene (it didn’t help that he was a self-described jerk when he was a star).
Put a cork in it Zane!
Maybe there can be a breakout role or scene for these guys … ever since “Aliens” the phrase “Game Over” conjures Paxton’s face for me, and I remember him from that, if not from much else.
In the same way, to me Bill Pullman will always be “the stupidest man in the world” from “Ruthless People.” And the line that brings him to mind is his “I knew that!” when someone brings up something he clearly did not know, or forgot about.
This thread prompted me to look up
ID This Hollywood Starlet From 1965
04-20-2012, 01:10 PM
Pashnish Ewing
which provided much fun in trying to identify somebody in a picture.
The Fay Spain add-on above was what sent me looking for the thread.
Maybe we need a new thread with “who looks like whom” criteria? For instance, who nowadays looks the most like Lola Albright(from Peter Gunn)?
Anybody up for such a spinoff?
How about Sienna Miller? She’s in a ton of successful films, and a lot of crappy ones.
Katherine Hahn (Step Brothers, Anchorman, Tomorrowland, Bad Words). Also in a ton of films, but always as someone’s best friend, the best friend’s wife, or some tertiary character. And she always plays the same shrill character.
Chris Hemsworth isn’t a great actor, but he has personality and charm.
Liam Hemsworth isn’t a great actor, but he has a brother named Chris.
Maybe I’m wrong here, but aren’t character actors supposed to sort of inhabit their character and be unmemorable as themselves? Aren’t we really talking about lead actors and actresses or maybe high profile supporting actors/actresses?
And I think the OP already picked the queen of the category in Julia Ormond.
Slight hijack.
Compare the American Pie cast to the cast of the similarly-themed, generation-earlier cast of Fast Times at Ridgemont High. Multiple future Oscar winners and nominees in the FTARH cast.
End hijack
I’d argue that Matthew Lillard is a memorable guy with genuine talent.
You get those actors who, without you being aware, suddenly seem to be in every movie you see. Lately they are Domhnall Gleeson and Jesse Plemons, and I like them both. However back in the 90s every second movie seemed to feature Rene Russo. I don’t think I could watch a movie with her in it without regretting the fact that they didn’t get someone else.
A more accurate comparison would be the cast of American Pie to the cast of Porky’s. FTARH wasn’t really all that similar to AP. AP was an example of the comedic over-the-top raunchy horny teen genre. FTARH, which isn’t a particular favorite of mine, aspired to something a little more sophisticated.
I’d have to take issue with you on Melanie Griffith. Her Academy Award for best actress disqualifies her as mediocre and forgettable IMHO.